ladybuglady wrote:I don't completely understand the statement from CHQ. The first line says, "The tax valid statement the unit provides only includes those donations made to that unit". That indicates the ward will not see your donations made through direct deposit. That's just the way it is, period. But then it goes on to say, "Donations directly to the Church are also included in the statement from the finance department to the current unit through MLS, provided the member has not requested the donations be kept private." That makes it sound like, yes they are reported back to your unit/ward, but the ward won't be printing it on your receipt. So, does my ward see the amount I donated via direct deposit? I thought all donations made via direct deposit were automatically kept confidential and there wasn't a choice to have it otherwise. (Not that I want it otherwise, I just want to understand.) Also, what does MLS stand for, I'm drawing a blank on that acronym?
MLS stands for Member and Leader Services. It is the software installed on the computer in the clerk's office that clerks use to handle most of membership and financial administration matters.
There are two different statements involved here. One is the statement printed from the data in MLS. This statement only includes donations made in the unit itself using the MLS software. The other is a PDF file that gets sent from headquarters through the MLS software. This statement is generated at headquarters. MLS is just used as a kind of email system in this case. The clerk simply prints this PDF and distributes the statement. I'm pretty sure these statements already have a signature so the bishop doesn't have to go through and sign them. This statement contains all charitable donations made to any unit or to headquarters. Technically the clerk can look at this statement but I would expect most clerks just print it and put it in an envelope to mail or give to the recipient.
Based on jdlessley's statement (note that jdlessley is not a church representative--he's just another forum member who is relaying what he was told by CHQ--I don't know if he was giving a direct quote or paraphrasing), the second statement will contain direct deposit donations unless you've requested that they be private. It sounds like the option to choose whether they are private or not is recent. jslessley's statement doesn't really address whether direct deposit which was set up some time ago is automatically considered private. Unless he has additional information on that and responds, you may have to contact the finance department to find out.